Alessandro Capponi

Alessandro Capponi was born in Rome on August 13, 1919.

Source Lazio Wiki

In 1932 he joined the Lazio youth sector. In 1933 he was part of the boys team that travelled to Vienna and who were applauded off the field by 50,000 spectators after a 1-1 draw (Capponi goal) with the highly rated Wacker boys team.

In 1936 he joined the first team squad in Serie A. The manager was Hungarian József Viola and Lazio finished 2nd. Capponi played 2 league games with 1 goal (the winner in a 2-1 home win against Lucchese) and 1 game in Coppa Italia. His goal against Lucchese made him Lazio's youngest ever Serie A scorer as he was only 17 and 4 months.

In 1937-38 he only played for the reserves in the Prima Divisione (13 games and 4 goals). The Lazio first team finished 8th under Viola.

In 1938-39 he played more, making 6 league appearances. The manager was Viola for the first 19 games and then Luigi Allemandi and Lazio finished 10th.

In 1939-40 the manager was Hungarian Géza Kertész and Lazio finished 4th but Capponi made no appearances.

In 1940 he joined Ferrara (SPAL) on loan for two seasons. The Estensi were in Serie C and finished 5th and 2nd. Capponi played 32 league games and scored 5 goals. The manager was Paolo Mazza in both seasons.

In 1942 he returned to Lazio. The Biancocelesti had Austrian Alexander Popovic as manager and finished 9th. Capponi only made 1 league appearance, against Venezia.

In 1943-44 the war interrupted football at national level. It continued however at local level. In Rome a Roman War League was set up with 10 teams participating including Lazio and Roma. Lazio won the tournament with 14 wins and 2 draws. Capponi played 9 games and scored 7 goals under manager Dino Canestri. He also played a game in the four-team tournament organised after the league. Lazio finished 3rd but were the only team not to add players from other clubs.

In 1944-45 Lazio finished 2nd in the Roman War League, still under Canestri. The Biancocelesti won once against Roma 2-0 but lost the other clash 0-1. Capponi played 6 league games with 2 goals plus 1 game in the Roman Cup.

In 1945-46 national football restarted but was divided into a northern league and a centre-south one. Lazio finished 7th in the latter, first under Canestri, then Salvador Gualtieri and finally Tony Cargnelli. Capponi made no appearances.

In 1946 he left Lazio but stayed in the capital and joined Alba Trastevere. The Albini were in group C of Serie B but were relegated. Capponi played 9 league games with 2 goals.

Capponi then played one last season with Sora (Frosinone) in group P of Serie C before retiring. The Bianconeri finished 11th and were relegated.

He however continued at amateur level for a couple more years, turning out for Virtus Spoleto and then Trionfalminerva.

Capponi was a midfielder who played mainly on the left wing. He was a talented player and, in his youth, many predicted a high-level career. It did not materialise but he was in the Lazio squad for nine seasons, playing 26 league games with 10 goals. He had the satisfaction of becoming champion of Rome in 1944.

In his time at Lazio he played alongside greats such as: Giacomo Blason, Uber Gradella, Alfredo Monza, Francesco Antonazzi, Umberto Busani, Bruno Camolese, Romolo Alzani, Luciano Ramella, Giuseppe Baldo, Salvador Gualtieri, Enrique Flamini, Aldo Puccinelli and the legendary Silvio Piola.

Alessandro Capponi died in Rome on September 9, 2009. He was the last survivor of the "pulcini" who 76 years earlier had so impressed at the Prater.

Lazio Career

Season	Total appearances (goals)	Serie A	Coppa Italia	Roman War Championship	Other
1936-37	3 (1)	2 (1)	1
1938-39	6	6
1942-43	1	1
1943-44	10 (7)	-		9 (7)	1
1944-45	7 (2)	-		6 (2)	1
Total	27 (10)	9 (1)	1	13 (9)	2

Sources

Lazio Wiki